


where we belong

by callisofcamelot



Category: The School for Good and Evil - Soman Chainani
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, good relationship between lance and tedros, it gets sad sometimes, relizations because they're both like dumb when it comes to feelings, slowburn, this is basically for me because it's my guilty pleasure au, trying to find loopholes in the law and trying to fall in love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2020-08-18 22:21:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20199100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callisofcamelot/pseuds/callisofcamelot
Summary: Ok.Agatha isn't really sure how this happened.All she did was help with casting (because her professor got her the job, and she couldn't say no), then suddenly she was reading lines with Charmont from Broken Throne, and Rafal has this glint in his eyes, and before she knew it she was being made to sign some contract.It's really a setup, and if she'd watched more Scandal and The Good Wife before everything happened she'd have known it.(The AU where Agatha and Tedros are in a movie, but Agatha desperately wants out because she's not a star, right?)





	1. sofia copolla

**@ tedrospendragon**

_so excited to be in the newest movie directed by the talented @ rafal_

**@ sophiewoods**

_thumbs crossed the audition went well!!! ahah pray for me u all xoxo_

**@ beatrixjauntjolie**

_this is fucking bullshit_

* * *

**HOLLYWOODS MOST LUCRATIVE DIRECTOR HAS ANNOUNCED THE FULL CAST FOR HIS NEW MOVIE, AND WE ARE VERY CONFUSED**

Rafal announced his newest project, To Make A Fairytale, a new perspective on royalty, magic, and all your favorite classic fairytales, a few months ago at Comic-Con and we have all been on the edge of our seats to get more information.

Now that the day has come we aren't sure.

Tedros Pendragon, HBO's Broken Throne and the son of our favorite 90s couple, is said to be the male lead. Fan's are very excited to see Hollywoods new golden boy get a chance on the silver screen rather than our TV's. With his recent Emmy win, we all cannot wait to see his performance.

For weeks fans have speculated that either Beatrix Jaunt-Jolie, Accidentally in Love and Fifty Ways to Break a Heart, or Sophie Woods a new girl in Hollywood mostly known as an Instagram Model and a cameo in Broken Throne, would surely be cast as the female lead, but Rafal does love throwing us off.

It was announced that Agatha Woods would be our leading lady. 

Now, most people have not heard of her yet. Agatha has been in the indie film _Between You and Me_ and is currently in Film School at UCLA, so we have not yet gotten to see her much in anything noteworthy. But as we get closer to the release of the trailer we cannot wait to see what this wallflower has been hiding!

* * *

Ok.

Agatha isn't really sure how this happened.

All she did was help with casting (because her professor got her the job, and she couldn't say no), then suddenly she was reading lines with Charmont from Broken Throne, and Rafal had this glint in his eyes, and before she knew it she was being made to sign some contract.

It's really a setup, and if she'd watched more Scandal and The Good Wife before everything happened she'd have known it.

One minute he's asking her to join the crew then handing her papers and a pen, and then the next her phones blowing up. It's bad, because then her whole film class gives her dirty looks and people on twitter are calling her all these names, and she cries while walking home, and she just doesn't want this. 

But nobody gets that, nobody seems to understand that she doesn't want any of this, all she wants is to be normal and invisible and for Sophie to not hate her.

* * *

(6:18) **hey**

(6:18) **are you coming home for dinner?**

(6:19) **i made spaghetti, with parmesan from that place you like**

(7:04) _on a no carb diet _

(7:05)_ gotta get in shape to be an evil stepsister :)_

* * *

** @tedrosisbaex**

_agatha is like gonna be shit_

**@jerebear45**

_rafal really casting an underdog when he could've cast the goddess that is beatrix_

**@hortbloodbrook**

_agatha's gonna be great, all you assholes can fuck off_

* * *

_"Okay, so, Aggs , remember— you're angry, you're lonely, you have a ton of, like, internal chaos going on from the fact your mother is dead and dad's getting married to a stuck-up bitch, and there should be, like, lots of sarcasticnesses, ok? It's like your Jim, from the office, please tell me you've watched, god Aggs, your homework is to finish the whole show by Monday. Well, you know what's happening, it's almost as if your too smart for this whole this, get it? You've seen the whole thing before when Cindy got the bippity boppity boo thing and Snow ate the apple, and Aurora pricked her finger. You know that it's your turn for a story, and god knows your gonna make it a wild one, and--holy fuck, your scowl it's perfect. God. I love you so much, ok so just embody that. We're ready.__ Let's roll, on three—two—one—"_

* * *

Charmont from Broken Throne has a name. His name is Tedros.

Agatha can't stand him because he's happy. He walks onto the first day with this smile, and it's such a big toothy smile and his teeth are so perfect and it's like he radiates joy and everything about him is like surfer-boy-esque with tinges of a high school hockey player and the guy you so had a crush on in freshman year because just look at him. 

He's six feet of this strange in-between of tan and pale, and he's like really lean but also muscular, and then his hair is long but still short, and he talks too loud but like he has this nice voice, and she just can't decide if he's insufferable or she's really attracted to him.

They all sit, on the floor because Raf says it's better for the creativity, in a horribly lit room, and Agatha hears Sophia complain about how it makes her look ugly, and Agatha doesn't understand anything because it's too hot and she's dying in her black cardigan, but is still too self-conscious to take it off, because she wore that lace camisole Sophie got her for her birthday which shows off too much skin for her liking, and it's been tough.

"I want you all to become best friends," Rafal announces after an hour of them sitting while he doesn't utter a single word, and he is horrible, but he's a genius, and it's hard to stand him sometimes. "You guys are not giving off the right chemistry, especially you two," he points at Tedros then at Agatha, "so I've rented a bus and we will be going on a road trip."

Everything is chaos after that, people yell, phone calls are everywhere, and then--

Sophie is staring at her.

Agatha wants to say something, how she's sorry or the fact she doesn't actually want this.

She looks away too soon.

* * *

Rafal makes a fucking seating chart.

Which means she has to sit beside Tedros.

For the next two weeks.

* * *

They don't take for the first two hours, she has her music in and he's watching a movie (it's Austin Powers, and she takes many peaks at it but has more dignity than to ask to watch). But she feels the brush of his hoodie or hears him laugh quietly, and it makes her think of how hard it could be to be his love interest because sitting beside him in the mountains of British Columbia it seems too easy.

Then Rafal comes over to them with an evil little smile, holding a little basket in his hands, "No phones. We want connections, and these little boxes are not helping."

"Come on, Raf," Tedros groans, pointing at the movie. "There's only like a few minutes left, just let me finish."

Rafal's long fingers grab the phone out of his hand and take Agatha's too. 

She feels naked in a way because they're left alone, in the back of the bus, with nothing but each other, and Tedros is staring at her.

His blue eyes seem to be soaking in every single part of her, and she feels like she's under a microscope.

"Stop," she mumbles, her eyes glued to her scratchy thrifted doc martens. 

He blinks. "What?"

"Can you not."

She's horrible at communication and, god, she just wants to open the window and jump into the mountains and maybe raise some goats and--

"When my agent, Merlin, told me about you I didn't get it," he says, his eyes finally off of her. "You're not famous, you've never really acted before--no offense, but like short films don't count, you're not that--"

"Fuck you."

It surprises him, but not as much as it surprises her.

Agatha feels breathless in a way, then the words just start tumbling out of her, "You think I wanna be here? God, all I wanted was to get some experience because it would look great on my resume--and, I've missed so many classes. University is already so expensive, and the guidance counselor said I need to take another year, do you think I have that money?" He stares at her blankly, making her anger even worse. "No, I had to save up money from working at McDonalds, apply to thousands of scholarships, get financial grade, and my mum," Agatha falters because this is closer, this is personal, "my mum sold our house, sure it was small and not in the best shape, but that was my childhood house, she's living in a shitty apartment just so I could come to UCLA for film school, and then Rafal tricked me into signing this fucking contract--"

"Tricked?"

She hasn't told anyone that part yet, not even Sophie.

**Fuck**.

Tedros seems very interested now, he leans in closer to her, she gets a whiff of cologne that's foresty and expensive, and he scrunches his face up. "That can't be legal, my stepdad's a lawyer, so I know some stuff. But like signing contracts without you knowing, it has to be illegal, or there's gotta be some loophole," he says, jumbling up words because he seems almost excited. "Did you not read it?"

Agatha grimaces. "Well he said being part of the crew, and the fact I had either been recording or reading lines the whole time, I just thought he meant helping direct," he gives her an are you kidding me look, " and it was long! The contract was, like, six thousand pages, I just assumed it was, like, me not being able to sue him for injuries or harassment."

"That doesn't make it any better!"

"I'm sorry, but my mum a fricking tarot card reader, we don't all have famous actors as our parents."

He glares at her. "The first rule of contracts, never sign anything without reading it--or better, get a fucking lawyer to do it."

She might tear her hair out at this point because he's so frustrating.

"I'm so sorry," she says. "Maybe next time you can send me the handbook. Oh, wait, your probably busy being on Ellen. Which wasn't even good."

He stares at her, and she realizes what she's just said.

Laughter comes out of him, and he straightens up to point at her. "You watched my interview!"

Agatha has never hated anyone like this before, she feels every fiber in her body burning with this feeling. It's everywhere and god she just wants to--she doesn't know what she wants to do but, it's there, and that feeling is just getting bigger.

She turns her head and slumps into the seat because she has some dignity, and also lots of embarrassment running through her veins.

"You know," he says, and she doesn't fucking know because he's so fucking weird, like if he was an animal he'd be a platypus, and Agatha just has so much pent up rage in her because she's been the same height since seventh grade and she burns too easily in the sun. "I'm gonna help you get out of this, anything for a fan."

(She throws a twizzler at him but her aim is awful so he ends up catching it in his mouth.)

* * *

2.

So Tedros grows up in the spotlight.

His grandpa was the president, so there's this great legacy in the family. 

But then his dad decides to jump out of politics bandwagon for Hollywood and ends up becoming some 90's heartthrob. His dad's in every genre of movie imaginable, he's in some action movies, that one horror movie, that alien movie, the time travel one, the sports one, and that rom-com with Julia Roberts. It makes him known as versatile, and good, and famous.

Arthur Pendragon is a Golden Boy.

His mum, well she's almost the same story, but just with different choices. She's from another old-money family, her parents supported Arthur's parents, and they're childhood friends. She goes with him to L.A after high school and ends up getting scouted as a model. In an age where Kate Moss's and being dead on the inside was in, his mother was like a breath of fresh air in the industry. She eventually stopped modeling and went to university though, then landed a job at CNN.

Guinevere is an American Sweetheart.

His parents get married in the peak of their careers and it's the most publicized weddings of the decade.

Then Lancelot comes in, who's went straight into the military after high school and then to Law School. His dad's best friend and his mother's ex-boyfriend, it's a tricky relationship. It just gets worse when the divorce happens.

When it happens his two-year-old face is on every single newspaper is in the country, with the headlines like **WHO WILL TAKE LITTLE TEDROS** or **GWEN AND ARTHUR BACK IN COURT.**

_Then his father dies._

It's too sudden and he's still so little and it's not fair. Five-year-old boys shouldn't have to see their fathers lose their hair and they grow a sickly shade of grey, five-year-olds shouldn't know what cancer is, or ever have to play catch in the hospital room.

Tedros's childhood already was hard, but then he has to grow up in front of lenses everywhere. You'd think that would make him never wanna go into acting, but really it makes him feel at home there more than anywhere else.

* * *

Rafal makes him and Agatha go eat dinner together instead of with the group, because what else would he make them do.

"Why is it so fucking cold," he grumbles, stuffing his hands in his pocket. Their breaths are visible, and as he looks at the ground he swears there's a light coat of frost. "I don't think I even packed a winter jacket."

"You are such a wuss."

He looks over at her. Agatha wears a thin sweater with some jeans, she continues to walk as if the weather doesn't bother her the slightest, he can't understand her at all.

Tedros is used to girls, well not really, but he thinks he gets them sometimes, but not her. Agatha is in her own category because she is unexplainable to him. Everything she does is unfamiliar and new, he has never really known someone like her.

He's used to girls laughing at his jokes even when they're bad. He's used to them blushing and smiling, then doing those flirty little hair flips. He's used to them pretending to be a little dumb and clueless because apparently, they think that's his type. He's used to girls going out with him because they want to be famous. But he's not used to any of those things not applying.

"Where are we going," he asks her because they've been walking for the past ten minutes and she hasn't given him a single clue.

"A restaurant."

"Well, no shit."

"Stop being rude," she says, speeding up her walk.

He has to resist rolling his eyes. "Then, tell me where we're going, I'm hungry."

She stops suddenly and he nearly runs into her. He follows her gaze and there in front of an old brick building, **India House,** is in big red neon letters. 

* * *

They both can legally drink in Canada, so he orders a bottle of wine as a peace treaty between them for the night.

(He's never actually had wine but he's twenty and really just wants to seem mature and cool.)

There's a plethora of curries, nans, rice, and soups in front of them because Agatha said they might as well try to put a dent in Rafals card, he agrees though he doesn't tell her. She tells him how her mom took her to this restaurant a long time ago, how the restaurant owner was a family friend and let them try every single dish on the menu, how that was one of her favourite memories. He doesn't ask if she's trying to recreate it with him.

She takes a sip of the wine and scrunches her face. "This is, uh, kinda, gross."

"Thank god," he says, reflief oozing out of him. "I thought I was going to have to drink it the whole night."

She smiles.

It makes him stop.

Her smile is something he's never seen before. It's such a nice sight, and it's not just that she has like really straight teeth, it's just so pretty. The smile makes her eyes crinkle a little, and stretches across her face, and he can't help but replicate it because, god, it's such a good smile. If there was a hall of fame for smiles, hers would be in there.

Tedros gets lost in it, just for a moment.

(He will deny this moment forever, and when she asks later why he's staring at her, he'll make up some dumb excuse. Tedros has never felt the way that smiles made him feel, it makes him feel strange and weird, but he'll never tell anyone that, well, not yet.)

* * *

(11:53 pm) **come to my room**

(11:54 pm) **it's 218**

(11:54 pm) _i'm trying to sleep_

(11:55 pm) **and i'm trying to get you out of this contract**

* * *

3.

He opens the door shirtless.

It should be illegal honestly, because her eyes want to look away, really, but they can't help but glance around his . . . abdominal area.

"Mum, Lance, this is Agatha," he says, pointing his phone at her, and she suddenly regrets not throwing on something nicer because the first time they see her is in a ratty oversized t-shirt she's owned for too long and shorts that are too short. "She's playing my, uh, love interest, and needs the legal advice."

Agatha's eyes immediately zoom up on the women. Her bright blue eyes are the same as Tedros's, she has this dainty ski slope nose, and even with the faint wrinkles on her face, she's stunning. Tedros looks almost just like her except for his blonde hair and tanned complexion. Then, the man seems to take the phone because he's the only one on the screen. He looks exactly like a lawyer, Agatha doesn't know how to put it into words but if there was a poster for lawyer's he'd be on it. With slicked black hair and a charming smile.

"Hi," she says, waving awkwardly, and feels fifteen again, going to Jimmy Smith's house to meet his parents.

"Tedros Pendragon," his mouth yells through the phone. "Invite her inside."

He grows red and gets out of the way so she can enter. "Sorry, mum."

Agatha walks in and she's almost alarmed on how clean it is. It's not exactly what she'd imagine a 20-year-old boy's hotel room to be, everything is in a designated area and there's nothing on the floor and his duvet is pulled out and folded (it makes her feel embarrassed about her own messy room).

They both end up sitting on the bed, a little too close for her liking. It's unsettling that she can feel the heat radiating off his skin, that she can smell the foresty cologne again, that she's drowning in him, and for some reason doesn't mind. 

"So what's wrong," Lance asks after his mum has badgered him with lots of questions like, _Have you ate? Did you pack extra underwear? Want me to send some money?_ Each one making Tedros grow just a shade redder. 

He looks at her.

She clears her throat. "So, I signed this contract, and well it wasn't what I thought it was going to be-- "

"She didn't even read it! She just signed it--"

"Shut up, we get that I'm bad at signing contracts--"

"Even worse, she assumed--"

"If I wanted to be attacked I'd go on twitter--"

"Can you two please shut up," Lancelot says, then leaves seems to think for a few seconds. "Well, you signed it so right now there's not really anything, I guess you could sue him or get him to fire you, but honestly," he gives her a tight smile, "I'll have to look into it a bit more. Maybe you could send me a copy, that'll help."

Oh.

Cold disappointment runs through her. She doesn't know why she thought this would all magically be good. She doesn't know why she thought he'd give her some easy solution. She isn't sure why her expectations are so high.

Agatha's used to be disappointed. Agatha is used to not being happy. Agatha is used to the spectrum of unhappiness, but this moment doesn't suck any less.

His hand gently brushes her shoulder. "Agatha," he says her name quietly, and she sees that he's ended the call. She just buries her face in her hands. "It'll be okay, I know it feels like it doesn't, but trust me it always gets better."

Her mind flashes to the google search she'd done of him hours before. How she'd found articles of his father, how he was only five when Arthur Pendragon past away, the image of him at the funeral flashes in her mind. Solemn and dressed in black, not what little boys should be doing at all. Then of the ones where he's sixteen getting arrested then vowing to the media that he's gonna get better, suddenly he's seventeen landing a main role in Broken Throne, eighteen and getting in his first public relationship, with Beatrix, then eventually his first public break up, nineteen and being the face of almost every lung cancer foundation, then twenty and on Teen Vogue talking about his dreams, struggling with self-confidence, and how excited he is to finally get on the big screen.

She believes him because he's a true testament that life gets better, that life always straightens out the crinkly parts at one point.

He doesn't hug her. He doesn't kiss her. He doesn't confess his love for her. They're not in some movie, where at this moment they both realize they're soulmates, but that's ok.

His words are good enough.

* * *

She gets back to her room around 2 am, and she wonders.

_How bad could this be?_

* * *

**AGATHA WOODS OPENS UP ABOUT GROWING UP IN A SMALL TOWN, HER MOTHER BEING A WITCH, AND HER CO-STAR BEING THE CRUSH OF EVERY GIRL IN AMERICA**


	2. bong joon-ho

4.

Sophie is her best friend. Sophie is her best friend until she's eighteen and then suddenly, she isn't just her best friend, she's her sister.

They're the plot of some straight to T.V movie, with shitty plot holes, and a low budget.

"Hey," she says, while she's in the breakfast line. "I think we need to talk."

Sophie's blonde braid, an intricate and confusing thing that looks effortless (though it's not because she's has tried to do it before), almost hits Agatha as she turns to face her. "We need more than talking," her voice can be terribly like those haughty mean girls sometimes, it's always unsettled, Agatha. "Maybe some therapy, or really just you need it. No sane person would steal their best friends dream."

"I know."

Her blue eyes narrow. "Then why, why would you do this to me?" Sophie's face is twisted into sadness and pain, it hits Agatha like a bullet. She doesn't like making people upset, she doesn't like causing trouble, yet it seems it's all she can do. "You knew how much I wanted this."

"I know, and this isn't what I wanted things to be like, but please," she feels terribly small at this moment, "I'll do anything to make it up to you. I miss talking to you."

She sniffs, turning her pointy nose upward. "I guess, there's one thing," her voice is laced with something Agatha doesn't know, "you and Tedros, aren't you two, like friends."

Them, sitting on his bed, her eyes stinging and his voice soothing, it flashes in her mind.

They weren't strangers, but friends didn't feel right to them.

"I guess."

"He's really hot, and I talked to him a few days ago and he's so funny too!" A secretive smile is on Sophie's face, as if this is a secret, as if she's the only one who knows this about him.

She isn't sure why her gut twists at that, but she sets it aside because as they're code of friendship once said chicks before dicks. (though Agatha hasn't had dick in a long time so it hasn't been necessary).

She blinks, not sure at all where this is going. "What do you want me to do?"

Sophie scrunches her face up as if she can't believe Agatha hasn't understood.

"I want you to set us up, of course."

* * *

She's looking through keychains. All the generic names are there, and she finds Anna and Alisson, but no Agatha. Souvenir shops are a struggle when your name isn't in the top 100.

After she finds a Gertram, which honestly just pisses her off too much because who the hell names their kid Gertram.

(Same could be said about Agatha but she doesn't think about that)

"I just chose a Maple Leaf keychain instead," a voice says from beside her.

She turns to see Beatrix, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't the tiniest bit star-struck because she'd obviously watched the one movie where Beatrix had cancer and falls in love with the childhood star who's a recovering drug addict. In the dark of the movie theatre she'd also bawled her eyes out because they deserved to be together, and she knows people expect her to be angsty and soulless. But she's a sucker for love stories.

But the camera truly doesn't do her justice, in real life she looked almost too beautiful to be real. 

"Already have too many of those," she says, lamely.

Beatrix smiles, the super white and perfectly straight one that almost everyone seems to have in Hollywood. "I kinda want to hate you," Beatrix tells her, and it's said so carelessly and without a twinge of badness, that Agatha isn't sure if she should take this as a bad thing. "Honestly, when I auditioned for the role it was supposed to be my ticket out. Ya know?" Agatha does not know actually. "Like, I liked playing the pretty girl who gets a disease and dies, or the one who falls in love with the bad boy with lots of angst. But I needed something different, so this movie was supposed to be me showing I was way more than a pretty girl who can cry and falls in love. Then well you got the role, and I'm a step-sister."

She rubs the back of her neck and gives the most awkward smile in history and--

"I'm not mad though," Beatrix says quickly. "At first I was, but I get it now. You'll fit the character way better than I ever will."

They haven't really exchanged a single word since she's been here, and isn't quite sure how Beatrix knows she'll be good, but it's nice. Nice to know someone thinks it's going to be okay. Nice to know someone believes in you.

"Can I get your autograph sometime," Agatha asks, "I have a friend back in L.A and he's a big fan of yours, and well, one for me too."

She looks surprised, then it turns into happiness.

* * *

5.

The iPad between them plays Mamma Mia. 

He's watched it before because everyone's watched, Mamma Mia. It's like some requirement in your life, to be obsessed with Abba at some point and watch Mamma Mia til you sick of it. (He's one of those people that never got sick of it because he secretly believes ABBA is a gift from God and plays it very loud in his car when he's alone.)

"I think Bill's the father," Agatha whispers. "Genetically it makes the most sense."

He frowns. "Well yeah," he says, as Meryl Streep starts singing Winner Takes It All and Pierce Brosnan stares at her with all those feelings. "It's not really about who the dad is really, because if it was they'd have done a paternity test or something. It's that when you have all three of them together they both bring the best parts of Sophie out and well, I don't know."

She turns to look at him, and as the sunlight from the window hits her eyes, he can't look away. It's like her brown eyes are honey and gold and amber and coffee, it's mesmerizing seeings the ridges and everything. He's never really thought about brown eyes more than just a boring color, but Agatha's are really nice.

Too nice.

He looks away and keeps his eyes on Meryl.

"You do know," she says quietly later after their silence has gotten suffocating. "I think you're actually really smart and have all these ideas, but sometimes you just kind of hold back."

He doesn't know what to say to that because here's the thing, people don't call him smart.

People call Tedros fun or attractive or laidback or nice or chill or charming, basically, any adjective one uses to describe some blonde surfer boy. He gets it because he has an image, and Merlin tells him not to mind it because who cares what others think. Which never really has worked because obviously he cares about what people think, his job basically attracts opinions and gossip.

_Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart. Smart._ He repeats it in his head because he likes that. A lot

"So tell me," she says. "What do you think."

"I think that this movie is one of the best things to ever happen to us," he says quickly, because god, he's spent hours thinking about this and he needs to get it out. "It's just so fucking fun, like, sometimes you need something nice and cool, and this is it. Like, this universe, where perhaps ABBA doesn't exist, or maybe it super-duper popular and everyone just knows all the songs and dances--" he slumps into his seat, "--the acting is also like really good, I love Meryl Streep. Everyone does. Apparently I met her once when I was three at some movie opening, I don't remember it, but whenever a movie of hers comes out I still say, 'I know her'."

He doesn't know what he's saying. He knows it must be confusing and jumbled, but Agatha listens to him. She doesn't stop him, when he starts to go on and on about _Lay All Your Love On Me _and the fact he was in love with Amanda Seyfried when he was ten. He sort of loves her for that--

He doesn't love her.

They're friends.

Just friends who've only known each other for about a few weeks and have only really known each other for like two days.

But, like, he loves her in the way he'd love a friend.

_Right._

"I like that," she says, quietly after he dumps all of his feelings out and has an internal turmoil. "I like the movie a little bit better, now that I've seen it through your eyes."

Tedros wants to ask her, what would it be like through her eyes.

(Instead, he says a joke to cover up his feelings because since he was twelve humor has been his coping mechanism for things he doesn't understand.)

* * *

**@ itsagatha**

_some people really need to bring their own blankets instead of complaining then stealing mine when i'm not looking_

**@ tedrospendragon**

_i feel attacked_

**@ tedrospendragon**

_also, some people shouldn't show me pictures of a scary cat when i'm trying to sleep_

**@ itsagatha**

_take that back_

**@ tedrospendragon**

_make me_

**@ hortbloodbrook**

_woahy, it's getting steamy in here_

**@ beatrixjauntjolie**

_you should see it in real life_

* * *

"You know who would be a cute couple," she asks him, leaning in just the slightest so he can feel her arm touch his. "You and Sophie."

Tedros doesn't know why he feels something similar to disappointment.

He moves his gaze to Sophie, who's sitting across from him, eating some fancy salad. She's really pretty, and her eyes meet him and she gives him a flirty smile, to which he responds with what he hopes is similar. 

But the thing is, Sophie is his type. She's pretty and flirty and has a nice laugh. 

Then why isn't he the least bit attracted to her.

* * *

6.

Agatha convinces herself to ditch Tedros and Sophie so they can be alone because she's a good friend.

So she decides to go to her hotel room and call Hort.

"Aren't there international calling fees," is the first thing he says to her, then, "I'm broke and sleep-deprived and very angry because there's a bunch of pretentious assholes in all my classes, and your not there to help me deal with them."

She starts to cry. 

"Fuck," he mumbles, and she hears scrambling and things clattering in the background, and it only makes her cry even harder. "I'm just kidding. I'll sell my kidney. It's okay, I can pay for this damn call. I actually miss you a lot."

She laughs through her tears, "Don't sell your kidney, just bill your phone plan to Rafal, and, I miss you too," Agatha says, gripping her phone a little tighter because she misses her tiny dorm and losing beer pong with Hort, then him yelling at her because how were they ever gonna get to the Olympics if she couldn't get a single shot. "You should come, join the cast, or help direct, I don't care."

He doesn't say anything for a few seconds.

She gets a little scared because she knows that's a lot of work.

"You want me to put college on hold and come work with you."

Agatha scrunches her nose. "Well, yeah."

"That's a terrible plan."

"I know."

"Good thing I already did it."

"WHAT!"

The whole hotel, maybe even the aliens at area fifty-one, must've heard her. 

He dissolves into a pile of laughter. "Got Dovey to write me a recommendation, and Rafal actually hired me right away. I'm the guy that claps the clapper board when Rafal says action."

"That's very important," she says, seriously.

"Of course it is, my talents can't be wasted on something dumb like actually using what I learned at school, like writing scenes, help to direct, or even making props."

She rolls her eyes, "Yes, of course."

* * *

**SPOTTED! TEDROS PENDRAGON AND SOPHIE WOODS WALKING AROUND CALGARY LATE AT NIGHT. COULD THESE CO-STARS BE SOMETHING MORE?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> updating quickly? i don't know her.
> 
> i'm just kidding, i'll try and finish the next chapter a bit quicker
> 
> but know that i've sort of planned this out, which really means i sat in my bed and imagined it all, i think there should only be four more chapter and then we're done. because it was actually supposed to be a really long one shot, but then i decided to make it into a story?? 
> 
> that's it. hope you enjoyed!!


	3. richard linklater

Rafal sits down beside her during their pitstop at Tim Hortons. "Do you feel like it's working," he asks her, peering at her with his large eyes. "Do you feel yourself finding the character? Or did I just spend far too much money on this trip?"

She takes a bite of her Timbit, then another, then another. Trying to think but it's one in the morning and she's a little brain dead from everything. "I think," she pauses, "Tedros and I have become friends. I think that we'll be able to figure out how to make some chemistry when the camera starts rolling."

"The spark was always there," he says. "It just needed some gasoline to make it more prominent."

"Oh."

Then he pulls his phone out and goes to Pinterest, he finds a board filled with colors and shows it to her. "This is the color palette I want for the scene when you finally kiss," he scrolls and it's this deep purple mixed with a navy blue but then there's this dusty pink that brightens it all up, "I want it to represent your feelings. The purple is the unsure part of you both, not knowing whether this will work out. And the blue, well it's the journey you to have gone on, filled with all the sadness and wonder and far too many memories. But it's the pink, the pink is the sparks. The warm feeling in your chest when you see the other, the brushing of each other arms when you sleep in the old fairy motel, it's the blossoming love."

Everything is so carefully planned and packed with too many hidden meanings, it leaves you a little speechless.

"That's good," she says, staring at the deep purple that reminds her of her bedroom walls. "It's really fucking good."

She doesn't really know how old Rafal is. Sometimes when he's shotgunning a beer in a hotel room or he barks out this frat boy laugh she's all too familiar with, she swears he must be at the most a few years older than her. But, then she thinks about the precision of all his shots, the way his dialogue is always written far too musically, and how he has managed to snag every important award in his seven-year directing career. He's accomplished too much and sometimes you'd think he was thousands of years old because something about him just feels old and wise.

Agatha doesn't care about the awards and fame.

God, it sounds cliche and she knows that everyone rolls their eyes at that phrase. She also knows that there's a chance she might change her mind on that in a decade or two because people change and evolve and morals seem to get lost in the process.

But, what she really wants is to make a film that someone loves. She wants to direct something that one person in this whole world can call their favorite. She wants to direct something that a person can say, if I hadn't watched this I'd be a completely different person, or, this feeds my soul in a way nothing else.

Right now she's starring in a movie that someone will feel that way about.

But, one day, she's gonna direct it instead. She's gonna do it because she owes it to herself, the eight-year-old Agatha who watched Coraline religiously because she'd never watched a movie that amazed her like that, the eleven-year-old Agatha who made a director poster for career day, the fifteen year-old Agatha who busted her ass at McDonald's and started saving up every single penny, and for the girl she is now.

Did you end up using that line, she asks her future self who's looking back at her right now, then one where she stares at the bathroom mirror and says, 'I believe in you.'  
  


* * *

**Agatha Wood's Affordable On the Road Skin Care Routine | Beauty Secrets | Vogue**

**Vogue - 753k views - 3 days ago**

She holds up Cerave cleanser, "Double cleansing is what the cool kids do," she says. "Trust me, it gets out all the gunk in your skin and makes it feel hydrated and soft."

Agatha continues to her normal cleanser, the leans into the camera to give a closer look at her skin. "Most of the time, on talk shows and magazines, everyone's layered with makeup and the lighting is insanely good," she goes to grab a toner, holding it up to the camera before putting some on a cotton pad. "I know you guys hear that all the time, but it's really important to realize it. The years you spend chasing after flawless skin are not worth it, instead focus that time on doing research and figuring out the right products for yourself."

She continues to talk about how she gets nearly all her products at Walmart because she couldn't afford anything else for most of her life, then laughs over how even if she has extra cash now it's hard to stop the habits she's formed.

"I think we're all hermit crabs," she laughs while putting on spot treatment. "We all cling to something, not always because it's good for us, but rather, it's familiar. Comfort zones are hard to leave, I know that very well."  
  


* * *

**Comments**

**Hannah Kellson 2 days ago**

**recommends affordable products AND openly talks about the terrible beauty standards in hollywood?? i have no choice but to stan**

**bobrossslut 10 hours ago**

**TEA TREE OIL IS A GOD SEND**

**dontlookatmyprofilepicture 1 day ago**

**don't look at my username  
**

* * *

"The Vogue video was really good," Tedros tells her while they sit an appropriate distance apart on her hotel bed. "You've only done that one phone call interview and, well, I've just started getting good at them and I've had to do this stuff since I was born. Very impressed."

"Thank you."

They go back to watching Avatar: The Last Airbender. They're almost done season one and they just started yesterday night, but neither of them are complaining at the watching pace, they both haven't watched it in a long time and can't help but enjoy it more now that they're a bit older.

She hugs her pillow, wondering if Sophie knows he's here. Even if she did, would she even care? She's Agatha. There's no reason to even be jealous or worry because nothing about her is temptable, really. It's this spiral of self-loathing that she's very close to falling into, but instead, she takes a deep breath and a step back. Not tonight, she whispers to the monster that always follows her.

Tedros turns to her, "Sophie wants to make it official," he says, running a hand through his hair. The way he says it, makes her wonder, is it a good or bad thing. "It's fast and we don't know each super well, so I need you to help me. So forget about any biased feelings and be real with me. Should I do it?"

It sort of surprises her, the fact he thinks being unsure might mean anything other than a no. Feelings aren't that hard because unsurity always means doubt on some part, unsurity, at least for her, means a definite no go. Commitment has no place to hatch when those feelings exist.

"When you like someone," she starts, "truly like someone, you just know. There's a part of you that doesn't even have to think about it because there's this person in the world who makes your heart beat faster and makes you happy in a way no one else can. When that person says, let's make it official, you wouldn't even give it a second thought because it's them."

Agatha's never ever had some great romance or ever said I love you to a boy. But, she's watched her share of romance movies and given so much advice throughout her life, that she'd like to say she knows something about relationships.

She knows she's supposed to be helping Sophie. And she is helping her because why would anyone want to waste their time on someone when they didn't feel the same way. 

"Isn't it a choice," he asks, taking her off guard. "Love, at least for me, is a choice."

She burrows her brows, not really sure.

He continues, "Like, yeah, the first initial attraction is out of your control. But, the rest is a choice. When things are getting bad, you choose to quit or try and make it work. You choose to stay through all the shitty stuff, not just so it gets better, but because you love them."

They both quietly converse for the rest of the night about love. 

It's not like love is something taboo or bad, but, people don't ever really talk about it. Well, they do, of course, people talk about love. But, no one really talks about it enough that you realize you barely know anything about it. The deeper they get into it the more Agatha realizes, she has an idea of what it is but she's basically clueless.

* * *

7

Tedros takes a sip of his Palm Bay, "I like that thing Mr. Knightly says," he turns his head to look at Agatha, "If I loved you less I might be able to talk about it more."

She nods, but she's basically passed out on the bed, bordering on the line of consciousness and sleep. He leans over and pokes her shoulder, she lets out a grunt and rolls over, pulling the covers higher over herself.

"I'm gonna go now," he says, awkwardly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He's about to leave, he swears, but then he notices the empty cans. So he starts to gather all of them up and put them in recycling. Once he's finished, he notices her jackets just on the floor and he can't help but hang it and--

His dads dead and he just got a DUI

(Tedros rides in the car silently as his mum lectures him on the drive home. He knows it was stupid and he doesn't know how it happened, but he's dying on the inside. He's been dying for a long time but today it feels more real.

He never cries in front of people, but at this moment he lets all those feelings out for a second. "I'm sorry," he says, tears blurring his vision. "I know I fucked up and I'm so sorry. I don't want you to be disappointed because I promise, I'll be better."

Gwen pulls over and she's hugging him, the hugs only mom's can give. She doesn't say it's okay because it isn't okay, but she tells him, "I know, it's hard. But, Ted, healthy coping mechanisms. Not stupid shit like this. I'm not losing you to something that's entirely in my control.")

His dad's dead and all he can do is clean. Hoping that the grief will start leaving his chest while he opens a new container of Lysol Wipes on a Saturday night while all his friend's party.

"I'll take care of you," Agatha's voice says, bringing him out of whatever that was. Tedros moves away from the hanger and turns to where she lies in bed. "And then the other one says, it's rotten work. Then they say back, not to me, not if it's you."

He shakes off his childhood trauma that's coated with privilege and smiles, "That's a good one."

If she noticed anything she doesn't say it, instead she yawns. "I think the coach is a pullout," she says, then throws him a pillow. "You can just stay here if you want."

* * *

Tedros watches his favorite episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Zuko Alone, and drinks an Ice Cap. 

"You still watch cartoons," Sophie asks, leaning into him so her head rests on his shoulder. 

He laughs, then swallows the part of him that wants to tell her it's not just a cartoon, and even if it was, animation is a really great art form that gets overlooked as childish. "Yeah." Is what comes out.

Agatha's sitting in Sophie's spot, with Beatrix. He wonders how that's going, Bee's nice, she honestly great and his friendship with her isn't the best, but you can still know how great a person is even if you're not as close anymore. Well, at least that's what he says when Chaddick would ask why he won't just text her and go back to being best friends anymore.

It doesn't make sense, he knows that, but he's a little terrified because she's too good at reading people and will probably point out the fact he hides his real feelings with humor and a loud voice. He feels a little dumb around her because she's insanely smart and doesn't even know why she hung around their friend group, girls like Beatrice became student council president, they didn't sit back while the boys stole from the liquor cabinets and got drunk.

High School was confusing and hard, he hates thinking back to it because he wasn't the best version of himself during that time. But there are memories that he'll always love a lot from that time.

He misses Chaddick a bit more today.

* * *

_"Hey Ted, it's me. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry we haven't been talking much. That's cheesy and we'll probably make fun of that later, but I don't care right now. I miss hanging out with you and stuff. I, uh, saw the episode last night. It was good, like, really fucking good. I'm really happy for you and now the whole world knows how great my best friend is. I'm back home for a little, just until Wednesday actually, then I'm back in Milwaukee. Gotta love hockey, right? Nicholas and I are at some party right now, well, I'm in a car because it's not the same being in this city and partying without you. It's like really late, so I don't know when you'll get this, but call me back when you can. Love you, mate."_

**Delete Message?**

** NO **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first of all, thank you. like a lot. the fact people still continue to read this and comment (some which are so long and filled with so much love that i like to reread once and awhile because i wrote something that made people feel that way!!!) updates should be more consistent now and this isn't gonna be a very long fic, i'm guessing ten chapters? but i'm a go with the flow kinda person so we'll see honestly. but if you come back to read this thank youuuu. means a lot :)


	4. noah baumbach

_BEATRIX'S INTERLUDE_

_PART I_

* * *

Beatrix grows up watching Grey's Anatomy, Chicago Med, and House MD, and a father who's the best Neuro Surgeon on the west coast.

* * *

"Just postpone it," her manager, Jarred, says. He scrunches his nose at all her college brochures and seems to have already forgotten the speech about wanting to go to medical school and finding a life outside of Hollywood. "You're career is just taking off. We have that audition for cancer movie tomorrow, which I know you'll regret for the rest of your life if you don't take it, B. You can go to college whenever."

She bites her lip, wanting to disagree. But, he's been her manager since she was twelve and she owes him one last movie. Right?

"Yeah," she says, quietly, while gathering up all the brochures and tucking them back into her backpack. "I'll probably regret it."

* * *

She gets the role and spends the rest of her Junior year and half of her senior on set or on talk shows or in a photoshoot. It's all very exhausting, she goes to sleep the second she sits down, misses calls from her friends, fails a class or two before her parents tell her maybe she should just do online school, then she's already being asked to audition for another movie and, "Beatrix, you're gonna be a star. You can't just give it up for something you might not even get into.".

So she drowns herself in auditions and interviews, while all her friends apply for university and stress over where they want to go. Reena makes pro-con lists about New York and London, then decides to drop it all after weeks of complaining and just go to Paris. Millie decides that she wants to go to culinary school, but first she needs to do her Eat, Pray, Love trip (they all say she's too young, she rolls her eyes and says she's an old soul). Tarquin is going to Stanford. Giselle gets signed as a model in New York. Kiko decides she wants to be a kindergarten teacher, in the future, for now, she's running to auditions like Beatrix. Tedros joins there trio too but he's landed a steady TV Role and isn't considered a struggling artist anymore. And Chaddick . . . well it's a long story. 

* * *

It's platonic for nearly seventeen years.

They grow up together. Parents are friends, mandatory Sunday brunches, same pre-school and private school, a trip to Cancun here and there. They view each other in every way except romantic because they're just people who've known each other for too long and have managed to form a closeness only people with history have.

Beatrix doesn't really think she even cares about him that much, honestly. He's just Chaddick, who's hair is always wet from practice and always has some bruise on his face from countless fights on the ice. 

Yet, she still always replies to his cup-pong even when she's tired and ready to drop dead. She also calls him late when she's upset and wants the company because being alone makes it worse. He always answers the calls. He also insists on driving over to her place and sitting on her porch until she feels better, sometimes, he calls her too. But, they never mention the time she held his hand in the hospital while his grandfather passed away in a room far away because being with each other made everything better for them.

She's been convinced that Tedros was her soulmate since she was eight that she never realizes how much Chaddick means to her.

"I'm scared of growing up," he says, closing his eyes and falling onto her bed. "What if I end up living this mediocre life that I'll regret forever."

"You're gonna become some big shot hockey player and be some kid's favorite player," she mumbles, staring at the Teen Vogue Cover she just did. 

He looks at her with these dark blue eyes that remind her of Van Gogh's, Starry Night. "You think I could do that?"

"Yeah, of course."

Chaddick doesn't say anything for a few moments, then he gets up and moves towards her until they're so close that one move and everything could change far too fast. He stares at her for a few moments and it's too long to be nothing, they both realize it. 

"B?"

"Yes?"

"Can I kiss you?"

She wants to act cool and pretend it's not a big deal, but she can't do it. Her face flushes and she feels this nervous energy seep into her, she manages to nod, even though she's a bit terrified of kissing him because so many things could go wrong if it--

Beatrix kisses Chaddick on a cold March day and realizes she cares too much, but that's okay.

* * *

**Beatrix Jaunt-Jolie Is Everyone's Crush**

_The seventeen-year-old is already on everyone's mind. She's been making cameos in T.V shows since she was twelve, most people remember her fondly in Jimmy Against The World, where she played girl-next-door and love interest of Superhero Jimmy Adams. _

_But her fame has been catapulted in her latest movie Every Last Moment. Beatrix shows her flexibility and blossoming skills as Ellie Anderson, a materialistic highschool mean girl who's life is forever changed when her sister dies from cancer. Throughout the movie we see Ellie go through the five stages of grief whilst reevaluating her own life, it's a movie starring teens for teens. Something we rarely see nowadays._

_Every Last Moment is a coming of age movie that'll be loved by our generation and future ones for years. It'll be ranked alongside, The Perk's of Being a Wallflower, Juno, and Clueless. All inspirations for a rector, Mandy Shah._

_But, who is Beatrix?_

_Well, she was born in Georgia but raised in California . . ._

**CONTINUE READING**

* * *

He gets drafted because, well, he's him.

So, they let go of any possibility of dating because long distance is already hard but they have these busy schedules, and they're still young. They have the rest of their lives to figure it all out because Beatrix and Chaddick would find they're way back to each other somehow. They've lived too much of their life together for them to be apart for too long before wandering back to the other.

They're in love with each other and a little miserable, but they start going on dates and eventually date people, and life goes because it always does.

* * *

_"You are my person. You will always be my person."_

_\- Christina Yang, Greys Anatomy_

* * *

There's this undeniable fact in life, you experience the friendships you did as a teenager ever again. 

Millie is gone already to learn pasta making in Italy and maybe fall in love with some hot Italian boy. It was hard saying goodbye to her because Millie's the mom of their friend group. She's the one who always takes care of them and tries to keep them safe from all the bad things in the world, her hearts so big that people almost drown in her kindness. You don't meet people like that a lot, someone so genuinely good.

So, Reena and Beatrix lie on the cold marble floor of the Pasha-Dune Kitchen drunk out of their minds from some expensive wine and talk about the meaning of life and everything in it.

"We can't be too sad," Reena says, sobering up. "We're gonna know each other for the rest of our lives. Sure," she shrugs, sitting upright so she can truly think again and pretend she's not on the path to becoming an alcoholic. "We might lose touch with a lot of people, we probably will, honestly. But, we get to know them still. The part of them that comes alive during gym class, the way they dance during that one song during a school dance, and all the things they made you feel. Maybe that's enough."

Beatrix closes her eyes and thinks of every single person she's met in the last twelve years. It's like that Lorde song, a supercut plays in front of her and it's the most wonderful thing she's ever seen. A tear comes out of her eye because she knows there are so many more years of her life yet, she can't help but love this part of her life a lot because it all she knows right now.

She likes familiarity more than anything else. "Reens," she calls out.""Yeah?"

"I love you a lot."

"I love you too."

She rolls over her on her stomach to look at Reena. She's changed a lot over the years but some things are the same, the long dark hair, sharp eyes that seem to catch everything, and an outfit that's always so well put together yet looks effortless. "Keep me in your life forever," she tells her. "Or else, I'll probably go insane."

Reena grins. "We can't let that happen."

* * *

She drives Reena to the airport the next week and cries while watching the plane take off.

* * *

Beatrix is lonely. 

She's never been this lonely before because she's always had someone. Millie, Reens, and Chaddick, have always been these large pillars in her life, but with them gone she's just grasping at empty spots hoping someone will be there.

So, when she gets home one day and Gwen is chatting with her mum, it just makes sense to call up Tedros and ask what he's doing this weekend.

They're both lonely. He's usually working or at home because his best friends are far away now, so his social life is very nonexistent. Sort of like her's. They find this comfort in each other because they're similar in a lot of ways, and, they also have known for such a long time that dating isn't even hard.

Maybe it's out of convenience more than real feelings, but, they do love each other. 

In their own way.

(It's not like either of them imagines a real future together, though. She can't see herself marrying Tedros, living in some large house in Calabasas, raising few blonde-haired kids that are permanently tan. Though, she does think about it once and a while because a daydream is what keeps her going most of the time.)

* * *

_**reenapashadunes**: then what's the point?_

_**beatrixjauntjolie**: what do you mean_

_**reenapashadunes**: what's the point of dating tedros if you can't imagine a future with him b_

_**reenapashadunes**: i know it's nice to have someone to text and make plans with and just come home too most days. but don't waste time on relationships with no destination because you both are hurting yourselves by staying in it._

* * *

**TEDROS PENDRAGON AND BEATRIX JAUNT-JOLIE HAVE CALLED IT QUITS AFTER FIVE MONTHS OF DATING**

* * *

Chadick comes home a week after the breakup.

They never mention it while he eats dinner with her family and all her siblings stare at him questioningly. They never mention it when they go swimming early the next day. They never mention is while they hook-up at his place after. They never mention it while she cries over how much she's missed him and the fact Millie and Reena meet up in Rome sometimes and she feels like she's growing more distant while they keep getting closer and closer. They never mention it while he hugs her and tells her terrible jokes hoping she'll feel better.

She realizes she loves him when he says goodbye to her at the airport after only a week of being home. 

It's a scary thing. 

Realizing you love someone. The fact there's a person in the world who could easily tear your chest open and break your heart into a million pieces, whether they mean it intentionally or not. 

* * *

"I'm like slowly getting more playing time," he tells her, during the middle of the season. "It's like great, I'm happy for like all the experience and everything but I miss all the playing time I used to too."

She nods, though he can't see her through the phone. Beatrix paints her nails a blue like his color and says, "My dad and I watched the game last night, it's a little funny sometimes when I think of how I've spent my whole life watching you in real life but now I'm stuck with the screen."

"You should come then," he says, after a beat of silence. "Next month is a home game, and, well, I could show you around the city and introduce you to my friends."

"That'd be nice."

"Yeah."

"I have to go now, sorry."

"Okay, uh, B?"

"Yeah?"

"I . . . I miss you."

"I miss you too."

* * *

_“If you love someone, you tell them. Even if you’re scared that it’s not the right thing. Even if you’re scared that it’ll cause problems. Even if you’re scared that it will burn your life to the ground, you say it, and you say it loud and you go from there.” _

_—Mark Sloan, Greys Anatomy_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok, so, i decided i wanted to like flesh the side characters out more whilst giving history to help everyone sort of understand everything better. so every few chapters you'll get a side character one shot kinda, it's like during a t.v show where the take an episode to focus on a character other than the leads? idk what i'm talking about but just trust me. i also had to decide whether to post a 5000 word chapter for beatrix or split it in two and as you can see i decided to split it because i feel you'll enjoy the next beatrix chapter better when you find out more things that have happened?


	5. henry selick

He says sure to making it official.

* * *

Agatha's reading the script for the millionth time.

Tedros is staring at the back of some kid's head.

He knows she knows because, well, he just knows. Sophie obviously told her, she's very open and loves talking and she's told Agatha. It makes sense, in his head. But, he isn't sure if he should mention it. Does he thank her for introducing them? Send a meme with no context? Maybe buy her Timbits, but only the white ones with the jelly inside because it's her favourite flavour. He wants to express some sort of gratitude because his mother's always taught him that forgiveness and saying thank you are the most admirable traits in a person.

But, there's this small part of him. The part him his mum, Lance, and Merlin always say is his father. It's not his hair, though he does get the comment a lot. It's the fact Tedros is able to get his point across without saying anything.

So he looks down at his phone and puts on Coraline.

She looks over and smiles. Then, puts the script back in her bag and readjusts herself so she can watch with him.

They're okay.

* * *

Charmont sits on the throne. Unlike in the last scene, there's no smile on his face, everything is stripped. He's just a prince who's best friend continues to die every time he's alone. If Nico hadn't been his friend then maybe he'd still be--

"You're always alone."

He looks up to, Jessa, his sister's maid and daughter of the village sorceress. She's not in her usual plain clothes, instead, for the ball, she's put on a pale blue dress and has flowers in her dark hair. It's the way she sits beside him without even asking that makes the blood inside of him run again for a second. Jessa's known him too long to treat him with all these stuffy formalities that he drowns in. He's been drowning for such a long time that he doesn't realize how much he's needed a breath.

"I've gotten used to it," he says, quietly. 

She takes a pin out of her hair. "It's not very nice though," she tells him, shaking her head. "I'm very sorry for your loss."

It's the honesty in her voice that makes him stand up, "I'm accepting General Locke's offer. I'm going to fight with the people up North. Nico," he falters, the memories of his friend flashing in front of him. "He deserves that, for me to continue fighting in the cause he lost his life too."

"I've been in love with you since I was nine," she says, finally. It all makes sense because these last four years have been leading up to this moment. All the shy looks Jessa throws in his direction. The dance they had last season. The almost kiss six episodes ago. "That's half my life."

Charmont frowns. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I thought it was obvious."

"I'm sorry."

She looks like she's about to cry, "You're still gonna go."

He nods.

"If I wait," she starts. "For however long you're gone. When you come home, will it have been worth it?"

There's a beat of silence. Music quietly comes on, it's a familiar song because they've played it so many times over the years. The last time was when Nico died. But, tonight, it isn't a scene of a young boy bleeding out on the battlefield. It's of a prince who's decided to take off his crown and leave the broken throne behind.

He loves her in some way because Jessa and him were supposed to end as they started. _Together._ Charmont knows that he'll be king one day and if Jessa marries him, she'll be queen. But in this court, queens who aren't from a noble bloodline are torn apart and live terrible lives. Maybe that's why people say, if you love them, let them go. It's about caring about someone more than you do yourself, he's not gonna subject her to such a fate because she should get more than a life stuck in a castle surrounded by women who can't stand her.

"No, it won't," he says. "You are brilliant, Jessa. You are kind, smart, and so easy to love. I assure you that there are men who would sail all the seas and even slay a dragon or six, for you. Someone who deserves the love you give." He gets up, starts walking out of the room, but he can't help but look back once more. "I hope to see you again, someday."

* * *

**@ tedrospendragon   
**

_getting to be your favourite blonde-haired prince for the last three years was an honor. thank you, for continuing to watch and support me through everything. i'm going to miss everyone so much on set too ( looking at you andrew scott, thanks for being the coolest dad ever). i'm glad you all enjoyed last night's episode because i know i did, there was no better ending for charmont._

* * *

**BROKEN THRONE'S SEASON FOUR FINALE LEAVES US ALL SHOCKED**

**TEDROS PENDRAGON'S EXIT WAS SUSPECTED BUT NOBODY THOUGHT IT WOULD HAPPEN**

**OUR 18 FAVOURITE CHARMONT LINES OVER THE PAST FOUR SEASONS**

* * *

8

Beatrix and her go shopping.

After sitting together for a couple of hours, they sort of just clicked. Beatrix is great at talking, not like just chattering on forever (though she could probably do that), she's great at making sure you never feel awkward and always bringing in new topics when one becomes stale. Maybe it's years of interviews and being famous. Or maybe it's that she's known what it feels like to be on the outside that she can't help but never let anyone else feel the same.

"It's sad when you outgrow people," she tells Agatha. "It's really fucking sad."

Agatha nods because it is. Seeing yourself change into someone that isn't able to connect with a certain person the same way anymore, it's not even with choice, all the change. It's with time. "I'm always scared because Sophie and I have always been on that line, where one of us is always so close to not being able to be with the other, always an inch away from being different enough that friendship doesn't work anymore." Then she picks up some $60 tank top and blinks away any sadness that's crept in, she is not crying at an Aritizia on a Wednesday morning. She has more dignity than that. "Does it get better, though?"

B blinks then picks up the same tank top but in a warm lilac color. "Have you finished Fleabag?"

She nods.

"Well, you know during the last episode, where Fleabag tells the Preist she loves him and he says 'It'll pass'?," she asks, then shrugs quietly. "It's sort of like that. Like, for me, the love doesn't pass, but the pain does. So when I look back at some moments they aren't tinged in the sadness anymore," her voice grows quieter. "I see it for what it was."

Their eyes meet and she knows. They're in it for the long haul now.

* * *

"So, I somehow got contacted by this random investment banker from Wall Street. He just randomly calls me and says, 'Is this Callis Woods?', then starts telling me how he heard about me from his assistant or something because she read that one interview you did in that magazine. He's been looking for a tarot card reader and he's decided he'd love to fly me over to New York for the weekend to do so."

Agatha's jaw drops, she's currently shaving her legs while calling her mum for the fourth time in two days. "No, your kidding."

"I wish," her mom says, "It sounded sketchy, of course. But then, I called up an old friend from university who actually works in the finance sector in New York, and he tells me it's all legitimate. So, this cool mom is packing her bags for the big apple next week."

"How much are you getting paid," she asks.

"4000."

"No."

"Yes."

She starts washing her legs off, still, a bit shell shocked. "This is crazy."

A small laugh comes from the phone. "Well you're a movie star now," she says. "I guess this is our life now."

She thinks about their house. A small house that had doubled as her mum's office? Coven? Agatha was never sure of the terminology that came with her mother's side job. She misses it though, a lot. Last summer when she went home, she just remembers them sitting in an old and cramped up apartment instead of a house that was filled with herbs and crystals. It was the most terrible feeling ever.

"I just got some money . . ."

"Agatha we've talked about--"

She shakes her head. "No, after the movie comes out, I'll have far too much money for me to be a struggling artist, so," she starts, saying the words she's been thinking for the last few days. "We can buy the old house back. If you don't say yes, you're really being detrimental to my career, honestly mom. If I don't struggle a bit, my movies won't have any flavor."

"I ju-- . . . okay."

* * *

**horto: im bored**

**horto: give me a good movie **

**aggs: hmmmmmmmm. watch ratatouille because #taste**

**horto: #ogey**

**aggs: #prayformebecauseactorsarrestartingtogrowonme**

**horto: i illiterate and it too late to read word too close**

**aggs: shut the fuck up and put ur big boy glasses on **

* * *

They all go skating as a team-building activity.

Agatha's tying her skates up when Tedros plops down beside her. She looks up at him and sees the tiredness in his face, Agatha doesn't know if she should ask but--

"Are you okay?"

Tedros pauses, then shrugs. "When we go back and start filming," he says. "Your gonna be alright, right?"

There's something so nice in his words, maybe it's the fact he cared enough to worry about her or even just think about how she'd feel. Nothing beats the feeling of knowing people care. It's always been, at least for Agatha, the point of life. The connections you make with people are what make life worth it all.

"I'm nervous," she tells him, thinking back to all the notes Rafal gave her back when they were filming. "For almost all my life, I've just sort of been there, 'ya know? Like, I'm not some eye-catcher and I'm not insanely talented that people are in awe of. I'm not the type of person who becomes the star of some movie because for most of my life I don't even remember being seen."

He can't relate to her, she knows that. Tedros and Sophie and Beatrix, well, they were meant to be stars their whole life. People like them flourished under the spotlight and basically belonged idolized in the sky alongside everyone else in Hollywood. Maybe, they didn't try to or didn't even want to. But they were always destined to be known and loved.

"I see you."

She stops. "What?"

"I see you," he says, then smiles. "So does everyone else in the cast. They all know your talented because Rafal would never pick someone who wasn't. But, something I've realised is, talent isn't everything." He stands up and offers her his hand. "Everyone likes working with you because you're always respectful and nice. It's hard letting go of ideas you have of yourself, but sometimes it's time."

Agatha takes his hand and lets him pull her up, not just from the seat. But also from the pit of worry too. "You're too nice."

"Maybe you're not nice enough."

(He's right. But she doesn't ever tell him that. Instead, she pulls him on the ice and they both skate around clumsily. ABBA starts playing and they both grin at each other. _So when you're near me, darling. Can't you hear me, SOS_)

* * *

They both get back into their seats bruised and cold. 

Agatha pulls the large blanket she bought with Beatrix over them, letting the light blue spread over every surface like some kind of ocean. It reminds her of California where even on a bad day the ocean was still beautiful. She's gonna miss it, a lot.

"I think you'd be a great Toph," he says absentmindedly, he's set up the iPad so they can start season three of ATLA. "You kinda look like her. Small. Short black hair."

She rolls her eyes, "Tedros. Toph is like thirteen, there'd need to be a younger actress."

"From far away you could pass for a middle schooler."

"Very funny," she says, elbowing him. "You wish you were as hot as Zuko."

He laughs. "Is that a pun, 'cause like, Zuko is a fire bender so--"

* * *

**FILMING FOR RAFAL'S NEW MOVIE IS SET TO HAPPEN WHERE PREDESACORS LIKE ELLA ENCHANTED, CINDERELLA, AND PRIDE AND PREJUDICE WERE FILMED.**

**The cast is still on a road trip according to sources but they'll be packing their bags for England next month.**

**Author's Note:**

> i'm going to finish this.
> 
> promise
> 
> please believe in me and be nice and kudos and comment!!
> 
> (hope you enjoy)


End file.
